Family
by Akuzoni
Summary: Set a couple of months after Dual Destinies. Since Clay's death, Apollo has been struggling with something deep inside him, a fact he refuses to admit. Athena is determined to help him, any way she can. Slight Justicykes, with a focus on Apollo's backstory.


Wow, what can I say, it all started as me wanting to draft some Justicykes, and it turned out to be a backstory of Apollo hahaha. And it seemed to go on and on, it just didn't want to finish. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy it. I own nothing... but my quill and ink, my soul and words.

* * *

It was 9:57 pm on an somewhat unremarkable Saturday. Having a couple of months of experience at the Wright Anything Agency, Athena Cykes was handling, for the first time (although "finally" would be a term more of her choosing) , a case all by herself. It was a scam case: the defendant, Mr. Nate Wellington, a successful businessman and entrepreneur, was being accused by his wife of stealing all the savings the couple had made during their 30 year long marriage.

After two days of legal proceedings, Athena reached a standstill: she knew for a fact that her client was innocent (since she took the time to ask the right questions to him, and noticed no discord in his voice), but that fact was, in and out of itself, a contradiction. There were no more possibilities, as far as she could see...

"...Aaaaaand, done." the voice of her 'partner in crime-fighting', Apollo Justice, sounded from the other end of the room. He turned his head to Athena "How is it going at your...? Uh...Athena?"

"Yeah?" she answered, her gaze fixed on her computer screen.

"...Don't you think that you should... you know... take a break?"

"No. I took one about an hour ago."

"I mean, you really might need to take a breather..." he remarked in a worried tone. Then, he continued in a more playful manner. "Those bags under your eyes... they are so deep, it hurts just to look at them."

"What?! They are not that bad!" she finally looked at him. "Besides, you are no better! Your eyebags are in the tanuki League, Mr. Apollo Filch!" she added, trying to sound upset.

"Ha! If I'm in the tanuki league, you would definitely win the gold as the champion in the Blackquill division."

"...So, that mean that I win again, right?" she remarked, her mouth twisted in a sardonic smirk.

For a moment, Apollo was dumbtruck, unable to reply. After a couple of seconds of silence, a winning cheer by Widget made them both burst into laughter.

It had been a long time since she felt this stressed about her duties. It all started three days ago, on a Wednesday afternoon. Mr. Wellington arrived at the office in a rush, looking for Phoenix Wright. Athena was the only person present at the time, and explained the man that Mr. Wright was busy with other cases and thus was unable to help him in a short notice. After hearing that, and for reasons she did not quite understand, the man started telling her the whole story of his life, his most recent problem and the need for representation at court, after all the attorneys he knew rejected his case. Seeing the man crushed by his problems, Athena couldn't but to take the case, and it turned out that what seemed like a harmless little case turned out to be quite the challenge for her mind.

"Anyway, any hope for you to go home and get some sleep tonight? You seriously look like you could use some rest."

"Right back at ya, Mr. Justice... but no." she said in a tone harsher than she had meant. _'Maybe the stress is really taking a toll on me'_ she thought. "I just don't get it... this case makes no sense at all!"

"[Need help here!]"

"Hush, Widget!" hurriedly said Athena to no avail, as he could catch on to that.

"Want me to look at it?"

"N-No... I... I'm fine here... really... Just a couple more hours and I'll be A-OK!"

Or so she wanted to believe, but after five hours of staring at the screen of her laptop, the evidence, the documents of every transaction, the profiles for the people involved in the case and her cell phones games, and not making any progress at all, it was becoming clear in her mind: she needed a second opinion. Actually, that had become evident since after the first day at court, but being the first case she handled completely by herself, she couldn't allow herself to go begging for help: her pride as a lawyer was at stake.

"C'mon, if you are going to lie to me, at least put some more energy to it, tiger" said Apollo, with an amused smirk.

"...Urk." she tilted her head, in defeat.

He stood up from his desk, sat on the couch beside her, and started to read the case file. '_There goes my case...'_ she thought. She admired her senior partner, in a way. Even though he behaved in a rather awkward manner most of the time (though Trucy prefered the term 'dork' to define him), she was always surprised by his courtroom persona: even though he sometimes made little mistakes, or was surprised by the colorful cast of witnesses and prosecutors that they often encountered, he didn't let them faze him, and always found the way to counterattack their arguments in really energic ways. He had a type of bravery she had not: he didn't let what others think affect him.

Admiration or not, she still felt sort of ticked off by the fact that she had to depend on him. Or anyone. She had proven to be a full fledged lawyer now, because having helped the legendary Phoenix Wright to solve the seven-year-old Phantom case is no small thing, right? She should be able to handle small cases like this by herself-

"Uh... you feeling ok, Athena...?"

"Huh?"

"Well, it's just... that frown you have... it rivals Mr. Edgeworth's on a bad investigation day... Do you want me to leave you alone...?"

She hadn't noticed, but he was right: she was leg-crossed, arms-folded, looking at the wall, all of that while frowning so hard that her eyebrows were starting to feel little sore. She quickly broke that pose, almost losing her balance in the hurry.

"Uh! No, no, sorry, Apollo! It's nothing against you, it's just... uh... I... d-don't want to disturb you... with going back home! Yeah, seeing how late it is..."

"..." he looked back at her, grabbed his left wrist with his right hand, and she noticed the suspicion in his eyes.

"...but, I guess that won't work with you, now will it...?"

He simply closed his eyes and shook his head. She sighed in a mix of frustration and exhaustion, quite reminiscent of an astronaut they had got to know very well a couple of months ago.

"I'm sorry... It's just that I see you and Mr. Wright handle your cases with such ease, and all by yourselves, and I...! Well, I wanted to be able to do it by myself." she finally admitted, hastily. "Failing at this just makes me feel so useless-!"

"H-Hey, tiger, relax! Normally you are the one reminding me about indoor and outdoor voices!"

"...Urk."

"C'mon, seriously... you are a great lawyer, Athena." he said with a big, toothy smile. "All of us need second opinions from time to time... even Mr. Wright!"

"...Really?"

"Yeah! I mean, it's quite uncommon from him, having more experience than us and all... but it's nothing bad to ask what your companions think. We're a team, remember?" and he patted her in the shoulder.

"...Yeah... You're right." slowly, she was starting to feel a little better. "Guess I will take up your offer. Do you want me to briefly explain the case?"

And like that, an hour passed. She explained the overview of the case, all the data about the defendant and his close circle, discussed the evidence presented by her and the prosecution, the facts she uncovered during the two days of trial, and her old theories about the real culprit.

"...the thing is, I'm out of leads here. The evidence doesn't seem to aim at a single point, and even though plain greed might be the motive, my gut tells me there is more than just that... oh, and I lack a culprit, of course..." _'Yup, this is quite the mess'_ she thought.

"Hmm... well, gotta hand it to you: i don't know how would I have survived two whole sessions of the trial with all of this..." said Apollo, puzzled by all the information in front of him.

"...The only person I have left who could have done it is my client's daughter, but I just can't believe that... I mean, she is such a sickly girl, and also they're family and all..." she slowly said.

"...Y-yeah... it sounds like a wild accusation, I give you that..." he answered.

And then, she noticed something. Discord? She wasn't sure, but for a moment there, she thought she heard a hint of sadness in Apollo's voice.

"...But it might not be that off-track after all." he continued. "Look at her background. Even though she is currently studying arts, she seems to have had great achievements with computers in the past, doesn't she?... Uh...Athena?"

"...Huh? A-ah! yeah, now that you mention it..." she came crashing back to reality. "And look! here it says that she dropped a computer science major a couple of years ago. Sounds very fishy, if you ask me."

"See there? Now you have something to go on." he smiled broadly.

"Hahaha! Guess I'm back in the game." she punched her right palm, psyched once more. "Thanks, partner."

"Happy to be of help."

But in all of this time, she still could clearly listen to it: there was a growing amount of sadness in Apollo's voice. He put a brave face, like always, but it was unmistakable: he was hiding something. She did her best to act natural, though: Apollo was a very prideful individual, and asking directly about it was the best way to make him just escape. But she had her suspicions about how to tackle this problem, and this was as good a time as any to give her strategy a go.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaangh..." she deeply sighed. "Guess that I still have ways to go, right? Just look at you! Lately you have taken so many cases... don't you get a work overload or something?"

"Heh..." he answered. He took a long pause before continuing "...I think I can handle it."

And the sadness in his voice became even sharper, more intense. Even though he could conceal his gestures in a very convincing manner, it was quite clear to Athena that something was crushing him.

"Well, why don't we call it quits for tonight?" said Apollo, suddenly getting up from the couch. "You have a lot to do tomorrow, and I'm sure that if you don't sleep a little tonight you will surpass your mentor, and get directly from the Blackquill to the Zombie tier."

_'Drat, he's already retreating!'_ she thought.

"W-wait!" she interrupted, panicked "I still need to think how will I make this girl come out! She spends most of her time resting in her bedroom... Could you help me with that, too?" she smiled in the most pleading way her character could muster (which wasn't much, as far as human standards go) to stall for time, until she could figure out how to make him talk.

Apollo looked puzzled, but agreed to look at the case files again on the condition that she won't stay awake past midnight. Athena went to the restroom, to wash her face and shake the sleepyness that had started to get a hold of her.

This last week had been a hard one for all members of the Wright Anything Agency: Mr. Wright was helping Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth to discuss theories about a particularly difficult police investigation, Apollo got his hands on a case of his own, and so did Athena. Even Trucy had a tight schedule on magic shows, which demanded her to go from here to there all around the city, so the usually lively environment that reigned over the talent agency had pretty much been replaced by a tense and silent atmosphere for most of the week.

According to Mr. Wright, every now and then they face situations like these. In his own words: _'just like football and baseball have their time, there exist a "court season" where an unusual quantity of cases fill our plates'_. But even with all the workload, Athena knew that a particular circumstance in the Wright Anything Agency was not a result of the time of the season.

Ever since Clay Terran's murder, Apollo had changed. After the killer had been arrested, and his suspicions about Athena cleared, he left behind his serious demeanor and came back to his usual self. But there were slight differences to his behavior: he would sometimes stare at space, his eyes not really focused in anything in particular; his smile, while still kind and warm, seemed insincere, as if he were trying to divert other people's attention someplace else; most importantly, whenever questioned about these strange occurrences, he would just answer with his typical _'Don't worry, I'm fine!'_, and quickly change the subject.

In the beginning, maybe he could fool the Boss and Trucy, but Athena could easily notice the discord in his voice since the very beginning. And these symptoms were becoming more and more evident as days went by, so much that now everyone were worried about him, for they could tell that Clay's death was taking a toll on him. But, what could they do if he didn't want to talk about it?

Athena was suddenly startled after realizing that she might have spent more than five minutes staring intently at the mirror while washing her face, time and time again. She closed the faucet, and feeling a bit silly, dried her face and went back into the lobby.

"Just in case you're wondering, I did not fall asleep in front of the washbasin" said Athena, doing her best to show a bright smile.

But no answer came from the man sitting in the couch. He was staring intently at the screen of Athena's laptop, with a serious expression and his index finger over his furrowed brow.

"Uh... Earth to Apollo?"

"..."

"...Apollo?"

She started to approach him. He was completely abstracted: lost in thoughts that, judging by his expression, Athena suspected may have to do with repressed or painful memories. _'This is it'_ she said to herself _'Now or never'_. She slowly put her hands on his shoulders. He was startled by this gesture, and quickly locked his eyes on hers: they were glum and filled with a weariness that went way deeper than just a lack of sleep. As quickly as he looked at her, he fixed his gaze on the floor.

"...I'm sorry, didn't hear you approaching"

"There's nothing to apologize for...Are you ok?" she said, letting her worry slip in her voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." he said trying to mask the melancholy in his eyes and voice with a big smile.

"...I mean it, Apollo... are you really, REALLY ok?"

"Y-yeah...! What's gotten into you? I really am fine" he stood up, and took a couple of steps away from her.

"...Apollo...we are... we all are worried about you." she started, not sure how to get to him.

"I'm fine..."

"I don't know whats troubling you, but we all- Trucy, Mr. Wright, me...! We are your friends! Please, let us help you- Let me help you...!"

"...No need, I'm really ok" he did not meet her eyes as he started to walk to the door. "You should get some sleep, you have a big day ahead of you"

As Apollo was walking past her, she quickly stepped in and gripped his wrist. He froze the moment she took a hold of him.

"I don't need your bracelet to know your are lying to me, Apollo!" she suddenly blurted. "Anybody can see that you are struggling over something! The amount of cases you take lately, are you trying to evade yourself?"

"It's nothing..." he said, his voice thin and weak.

"You can't run away forever, is it about Clay?"

"Leave me be... I'm okay..." he muttered, but she couldn't hear him.

"We are your friends! Can't you understand how much it hurts to see you like this?! We...we are like a family! A-and-"

"WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT FAMILY!" he suddenly burst. As he turned to face her, everything about his features just seemed wrong: his brow was furiously burrowed; his eyes, while filled with rage, seemed teary; his mouth, just a moment ago full of kind words, was now brimming with disgust. "MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS, I SAID I'M FINE, DIDN'T I?! LEAVE ME BE!"

Taken aback by the sudden reaction, she quickly let go of his wrist. Just who was this man in front of her? She didn't know. She felt her eyes tearing up and her lower lip starting to tremble, but using all the strenght of her will, she resisted the urges to run and to cry. A deep, ominous silence started to form between them.

"...I see..." she looked elsewhere, unable to keep staring at him. "...Sorry for bringing it up."

"...A-Athena...I'm-"

"Thanks for the help with the case." she said with a weary smile, and started walking away.

She didn't know what to do or think. She was furious at Apollo, but at the same time the deep and piercing coldness of anguish had taken a rest in her chest. And it was quickly overcoming her better judgment. _'Why? I just wanted to help him, and he...'_ She retrieved her laptop and the case files in absolute silence, and avoided looking at him. While she was about to reach the door, she could feel Apollo's hand in her wrist.

"Look, Athena, I'm sorry..."

"...Yeah... I'm pretty sure you are." she answered coldly, trying to get loose.

"I didn't mean to-"

"You didn't? I'm not so sure about that..."

"Athena..."

"If you want to keep your secrets to yourself, so be it." she said, harshly."We are just acquaintances, co-workers, after all-"

"That's not true..." he tried to start, to no avail.

"...I sincerely hope you can find someone you can trust with your problems." she struggled to free herself from him, but he didn't let go.

"PLEASE!" he cried, desperately. And, as he slowly let go of her wrist, he mumbled."Please... don't leave... I don't see you like that, you are really my friend, and-"

"If you mean that, then you can talk to me, I suppose."

It took him a while to calm her down. Despite really wanting to help him, she was still mad at him for the gratuitous violence she was just subjected to. After some time, with apologies out of the way and a nice cup of tea in hand, she was finally in the mood for listening again. Athena had made him vow that he would be sincere, and she would make sure he fulfilled that promise.

"So...is it about Clay?"

"I'm... not sure." he answered. Athena certainly did not expect this answer, and for a second felt the impulse to yell at him, but decided to stay silent and let him voice his mind. "... it's just... I don't know. All this time I've been thinking about him, and how... unjust... was his death..."

"You feel guilty somehow?" she asked, trusting her privileged sense of hearing.

"Hm...? Y-Yeah, now that you mention it..."

"Apollo... Clay's death was not your fault..."

"I know!" he suddenly blurted, but lowered his tone before continuing. "...I know that, we got the real culprit, and that episode in my life should have been closed with that, but... but I just can't let it go, and I'm not sure why."

The sorrow in his voice was so deep, Athena's eyes were filling with tears. Despite always being able to catch on to the slightest change in a person's emotions, she was never really that good at handling them. Learning psychology sure gave her the weapons she needed to handle patients' (or witnesses) problems, but dealing with feelings in a professional manner was far easier than to do so in a personal way. Feeling at a loss for words, and noticing the silence that Apollo fell in, she thoughtlessly asked, in an attempt to change the subject:

"What was he like?"

"Huh?"

"I-I mean..." she stuttered. "I just remembered that, before all of this happened, you were going to introduce us... didn't you? But then... all of this happened."

He stood there, looking at her with a bewildered look in his eyes, for a couple of seconds.

"Uhm...I'm sorry if I asked about something inadequate-"

"No, no!." he said, showing a small smile. "You just took me by surprise, I didn't expect anybody asking me that at this point in time."

He walked slowly through the office, looking at his surroundings, as if he were trying to collect his memories from the frames hanging in the wall. He stopped by the window, first looking at the city lights, and finally fixing his gaze at the crescent moon.

"Hm, Clay." he started. "Well, what can I say? He was an enthusiast, an idealist: he always fought for his dreams. He was also a very sociable and outgoing person, I can remember several anecdotes about he and I getting into trouble at...social events."

"Social events? As in... parties? Didn't picture you as the outgoing type."

"Oh, and I really wasn't: he tricked me to some parties, and practically dragged me out of my apartment for others." he remembered, with a smile in his face. Athena could listen to the joy and nostalgia in his words, and couldn't help but to smile back. "Guess he was what you might call a people's person: well liked by everyone, he always had a joke at the ready, or clever comments to fill in the gaps of any awkward conversation..."

"You make him sound like a paragon amongst men." amusedly joked Athena.

"Oh, well, he had some flaws, as well: he had quite the temperament, about two thirds of his stories raised some sort of suspicion about their legitimacy, had serious case of tardiness...man, I remember that one time when I was left waiting for him for about 2 hours..."

Athena almost spilled her tea at all of that: watching Apollo rambling like an old man was something she did not ever expect to see. She kept her cool, however, and let him finish.

"Hahaha, but they don't seem like serious SERIOUS flaws, do they?" she said, with a smirk. "Maybe you could learn from him!"

"Hey..." he frowned a little at the comment. "Well, and last, but not least: he was a serious, serious womanizer."

If she did not spill her tea before it wasn't for the best, for she literally spouted it this time.

"What?!"

"Uhm... well, yeah." he continued. "I told you how he practically dragged me to parties? He said that I needed to loosen up, but I'm sure that he did that mostly because he needed a wingman." he scratched his cheek and looked away, slightly blushing at the memory.

"Those poor girls! And you supported him on that?"

"[You are terrible, Casanova!]" suddenly barked Widget.

"C'mon! He was my friend, and we were young... surely you can understand that he wanted to fool around."

"Young you said? How young are we talking here?"

"Uh... Not sure... ever since we were 13?"

"You partied at that age?!"

"Uh, yeah, houses of acquaintances and the such..."

Suddenly, Athena started to laugh. She did so quietly, but found out she couldn't stop: the image of her senior as a kid, taking part in a situation so unlike how she imagined him, or even better, totally failing at it and sweating bullets out of pure social awkwardness was a mental image too strong for her to bear.

"...Is it that hard to imagine me having fun?" he asked, frowning at his junior partner.

"Sorry, sorry, don't mind me. It's just fun to picture you as such a party animal."

"Hey, it wasn't like that...!" the look on Apollo's face was, as some might say, priceless: even though he tried to seem mad at her, he was too embarrased to force his face into the right expression, resulting in a strange mix of both, with his face toned to a perfect red.

She finished laughing and, with a smirk, she said. "Well, looks like you both were inseparable! What a team you must have made."

"Yeah... well, it wasn't always like that..." he was smiling as he said that, but the wistfulness in his eyes and voice were, even though quite subtle, pretty clear for her. "There was this time when our friendship was put to the test."

Athena left her cup in the table, and turned to him still sitting. She said nothing but just looked at him expectantly. Apollo turned once again to the window, and continued his tale.

"Clay was the outgoing type, so he was quite popular with girls. I wasn't popular at all, but to tell you the truth, I did not mind it: almost all girls were so vain, boring and..." he noticed Athena giving him the start of a glare, so he decided to move out of that point quickly. He cleared his throat. "But when I made it to 11th grade, a new girl arrived to my class... and as stupid as it sounded, I liked her the moment I saw her."

Vain as it may have seemed, this story sparked her curiosity even more. "Really? Was she pretty?"

"It might sound like I'm avoiding the subject, but I really can't remember."

"Pfff, what a bummer." answered Athena pouting.

"I remind her being smart, fun... she could make philosophical remarks out of mundane things..." he forced his mind to remember, to no avail. "Well, the thing is, she and I got very close at some point in time. Since the start of high school, Clay and I were in different classrooms, so one day, I thought of introducing them both."

Judging by the increasing sadness in his voice, Athena could see where the story was going. She decided to stay silent, to give him space.

"Well... the thing is they got along nicely. Really nicely. Maybe... a little too much." he said, weighing every word he used. "It wasn't long until I started to notice how I was being left aside by her: they met during lunch, and walked home together. Soon, the people around me started to notice that I was behaving strangely... and eventually, oblivious as he always was, even Clay could tell that there was something really bugging me."

"One day, he cornered me on the way home and demanded to know what was wrong with me." he continued. "Even though we were friends, I refused to tell him, and we had a big fight."

"You stopped talking to each other?" Athena inquired.

"Huh? No, he punched me in the nose. And I got back at him. Hard. Heh, the memories..." he flexed the fingers of his right hand and smiled while looking at them.

_'Thank the Gods I was born a woman'_ Athena thought.

"The thing is we punched and kicked each other until we fell to the ground from exhaustion. And then, he just asks out of the blue: _'you like that girl, don't you?'_. I couldn't lie to him, and ended up telling him everything. We talked there until dusk came and passed, and it was very late to get home... and just as randomly as his question at the start of our conversation, he told me that he would stop meeting with her. I couldn't believe it, so when I asked why, he said: _'I prefer a good friend over some girl I just met. And besides, I'm not so much into her'..._ As he said that, my bracelet was almost choking my arm. I didn't understand my ability back then, but I can tell now that he was lying."

"So, he kept dating this girl...?"

"No... he didn't. I'm sure he didn't..." said Apollo, the pain rising in his voice.

Athena was dumbfounded for a second, but quickly understood what it all meant. _'Could it be that...?'_

"Ever since I can remember, I was always alone..." he started. "I had no family, and not being the most sociable kid in the lot, I never had many friends. Clay was the only person who, despite all my flaws, always decided to stand by my side... He was like a brother... the family I never had."

He took a deep breath, his gaze lost in the horizon. From where she was standing, Athena could not see his face, but she noticed his fists tightening.

"Clay was really fond of this girl... and they were quite the match, for the brief time they shared. He was really happy and I... I couldn't understand that." his voice was filled with regret. "I... h-how...how could I-?!"

But he was interrupted by something he wasn't expecting. He felt a slight push on his back, as Athena embraced him from behind. He could feel her shivering chest, along with the warmth of her body and her tears.

"...I'm sorry..." she said.

"..."

"I'm terribly, terribly sorry for your loss..." she said, among bitter tears. "But... it's not your fault, Apollo! You did not know...!"

"He always went off of his way for me... And in the end I... did nothing of the sort for him..." his voice was brittle.

"I'm sorry, Apollo... but there's just no way that's true." Athena said, resolutely.

"How do you know? Y-You weren't there, I was such a childish guy, and he decided to bear all that grief just for me and my stupid whims...!" as he talked, Apollo had put his hand over Athena's, which were closed on his chest.

"I know, because the way you picture him..." she said, slowly "... Clay would never do a thing like giving up on someone he loves for just anyone. He wasn't a saint, Apollo: if he chose you, it's because he thought you were worth it. You were his best friend, and even though I didn't get to know him, I'm sure he didn't regret his choice... He really thought highly of you."

Apollo stood in silence for a brief moment, before he slowly crumpled to his knees. Athena went down with him, still holding him tight. She could feel how his chest shivered, as he started weeping copiously. She was surprised about how silently he cried, for it seemed completely out of place for a person as loud as him. They stayed in that position for a long time, she embracing his back and him covering his face with one hand until his tears ran dry and he could speak again.

Having washed his face on the restroom, Apollo approached Athena.

"I'm sorry."

"Uh? What about?"

"I mean, for putting you in this situation, I'm sure it must have been a lot of trouble and..."

"Don't be silly! I mean... you are always there for me. I'm just glad I could be of help." she retorted, smiling happily. Then, with a smirk on her face, she said "But you know, normal people just say _'Thank you_'._"_

"...Thank you, Athena." he said, looking directly at her eyes, and smiling warmly. "I'm glad I can count on you."

She suddenly noticed that their eyes were locked onto one another's. She wasn't sure why, but that made her heart race inside her chest, and her cheeks burn. They stopped talking, and the gap between their faces was slowly, but steadily, closing in. She surely wasn't thinking, and neither was he, but it just... happened. Somehow, as he cupped her face with his hands and joined his lips with hers, she felt as if she were floating. That warm feeling extended from her lips to her chest, and all throughout her body. She didn't remember how long she stood there, kissing Apollo, but when the realization struck her she quickly parted her lips from his, took a couple of steps back, and looked to the floor with her cheeks aflame.

"I-I'm sorry!" he stuttered. " That w-was..."

"N-No no, don't worry..." she answered quickly, helplessly trying to regain her cool. "That was...That...what was that?"

"I...uh...Uhm." he was also blushing furiously. "Well..."

"Hey, look at what time it is!" Athena said, pointing behind him.

He turned to see at the wall clock: it was almost 2 am.

"When did it become so late?!" he almost shouted.

"We should probably just go home." she hurriedly said.

"Yeah, you're right."

Never before did the elevator ride seem so long; it was as if the building magically grew 100 stories tall before dawn, only to shrink back to it's normal size during sunlight. The whole trip down was ruled by an uncomfortable silence. Once down, they walked to the bus stop, to wait for a taxi.

"Athe-"

"H-Hey-"

And if the situation wasn't awkward enough as it was, both spoke at the same time. And both stuttered. And then they shut up. And tried to get the other one to talk first. And then Athena decided she would talk first.

"Uh, Apollo... about..."she didn't know what to say. She didn't even know what to think.

"...Y-Yeah...?"

"So, uhm... can I count with your help tomorrow, if it's not asking much?" she avoided the subject the best way she could, noticing that she could not just bring it up.

"Huh?...Hm... oh, the case!" he scratched the back of his head, awkwardly. "Sure, count me in. We'll get to the bottom of that..."

And another awkward silence stood between them.

"So, uh... do we share the cab?" he asked.

Luckily for Athena, they shared the cab in the end. The taxi passed by Cykes' place first, only for her to notice that she was not carrying her wallet, which resulted in Apollo paying for the full trip, instead of going half and half. Embarrased once again, she waved him goodbye and hastily entered her home.

Having closed the door behind her, Athena felt the weight of all the nights she had not slept, and all the worries she had passed these last few days, over her shoulders. Not counting the day that was just ending, they were far too many. Too tired to go to the shower, or even change her clothes, Athena managed to drag herself to bed, and not even getting under the covers, she tried to get some rest.

Today had certainly been a really long day. And now she had one more worry added to her list.

"Apollo..."

She found it hard to sort out how she felt about what had happened. For a part, she really liked it and felt overjoyed by feelings she did not know she had, but on the other hand she felt like a traitor.

_'Oh, gosh... I should talk about this with Junie... but... '_

But how could she? How would she take it? She was too tired to think about it, but at the same time, she noticed she couldn't just sleep it off. After some struggling with herself, she decided that she could not get closer to Apollo, for Junie's sake. She would definitely not do it. She would have to make sure he understood that what happened would not happen again. But maybe... for just one night, she could dream about what she really wanted, couldn't she?

She would be strong, and not let anything get between her friendship with Junie. But, just for one night, she would allow herself time to fantasize; the first and the last time. Defeated by exhaustion, she peacefully drifted to dreams where everything was sweeter, and far simpler, than reality.

* * *

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tl;dr

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